How Enzo Maresca Fixed BROKEN Chelsea

It was a chaotic summer for Chelsea and they lost 2-0 on the opening day of the season against Man City. But now they sit second in the Premier League and have 13 more points than they did this time last season. So how have Enzo Maresco's changes transformed them just so quickly? To understand this we're going to talk about Maresco's new tactics, how Enzo Fernandes became a key player for Chelsea and we're going to explain how Cole Palmer and Nicholas Jackson have formed a deadly partnership. Merry Christmas everyone and welcome back to The Breakdown with me, James Alcott. Every single game week we're going to take that deeper look at the tactical side of different Premier League talking points and this week it's Chelsea. Chelsea have scored 37 goals this season since implementing Maresco's 4-2-3-1 system. They've become incredibly proficient going forward and this is what they look like. So how does Enzo set up Chelsea? Well what he's done has been very, very clear and in every single game he has played this way. 4-2-3-1 on paper but obviously a lot of movement and nuance to it as well. The two centre backs, generally it's been Fafana and Caldwell if available although there have been different options along the way. And then two full backs that have had to have quite nuanced roles at times, sometimes bombing on and attacking, sometimes stepping into midfield to help out as well in terms of build-up. Koukourea has actually had himself in this area at different times and Gusto has played on that left-back role and he's even found himself over there from that left-back role when he's played there as well. So lots of nuance to those two full backs. You then have a double pivot and in that double pivot you'll have one that will stay back that little bit more, a bit more defensive-minded, that would be Caicedo or if Lavia is playing in the team with Caicedo it would be Lavia but Enzo Fernandes is often the one who's given that bit of a licence to get forward and get into those half spaces and speaking as which, that is where the wingers come in because the wingers, they don't start there, they stay nice and wide, as wide as possible. Let me explain exactly why because when I press this button you will see that the half spaces are really important and it allows the likes of Enzo Fernandes and Cole Palmer to then pick up the ball in those half spaces or, just as great, have players that can step into these areas and drive into these half spaces, players like Jadon Sancho. And then you've got Jackson up top, working really hard for the team, hold-up play really strong as well, sometimes coming into those half spaces to help facilitate build-up and then you've got runners in behind but actually, really crucially, running into those channels a lot of the time, working really hard for the team to take defenders away and again give space for Palmer to do his damage. Last season Enzo Fernandes scored three goals and got two assists from 28 matches but after only 16 matches this season he's scored three goals and has four assists. Simply put, he has improved, certainly in his output. This season he's had a 64% rise in passes that lead to shots but this is despite having 18 fewer touches per 90 minutes. So, how is he so much more effective with less of the ball? Well, here we have Enzo's heat map which gives us a few clues. This one from last season and this season as well. And they are quite similar but there is one key difference. Last season's heat map has an orange patch on the centre circle, however, it's not there this season. And this is because Enzo has given Enzo a greater focus on impacting the attack. Check this out. Here we have Enzo standing in the channel his heat map showed us. Last season the likelihood would have been that he either stayed still or made a movement towards the ball, coming short, wanting to get on the ball and make passes. But instead he closes off his body shape and starts moving away from the ball due to Maresca's very clear attacking instructions for him. And this forward movement means that Enzo is now in an area to receive a progressive pass from Caicedo. He was only receiving two of these per game last season but in this match, in this match people, he received eight. You weren't expecting that word, were you? Eight. That's a lot. And once Enzo has played the pass, his next thought is to start working his way into the box. This is something that Chelsea legend Frank Lampard mastered and Enzo seems to be trying to replicate. Is he the new Frank Lampard? Let me stop you there. No one's going to be super Frank. But he has added that attacking layer to his game and we've seen the goals from him. Nicholas Jackson and Cole Palmer have a combined 29 goal involvements between them this season. Their attacking output has been exceptional and the way they combine has been unstoppable to be honest, especially in transition. Here's Nicholas Jackson's passing map versus West Ham, a game in which he scored twice and got himself an assist. Now this, from Jackson towards Cole Palmer, shows that they're always looking for each other in the final third. So we see Jackson here breaking away in a counterattacking scenario which actually came from a West Ham corner and to his right you see Cole Palmer who's always available as a passing option and Palmer's movement here is very clever as he slows down and he begins making a movement behind Jackson and that's because he's realised that Noni Madiweki is making a run down on the right wing which gives Jackson another passing option and makes life very difficult for the defences. They don't know if they should go right, they don't know if they should go left and follow Cole Palmer. But even more of a problem is Palmer's smart movement leaves the West Ham defenders outnumbered three to two and therefore Jackson's able to play him in with a lot more ease and Palmer's able to have a lot more space because of that three on two and those two defenders not knowing where to go. The timing of the run is great but the timing of the pass is fantastic and he only needs to take one touch into the box and then he finishes with what? That's right, aplomb. This is another great example of how Chelsea are just devastating in transition and it's something you'll see in the Premier League a lot from most teams attempting to do it but having the players that can both run at pace in transition and commit those runners but then make the timing of the runs and the pass, that's where it's really really difficult and in Cole Palmer and Nicholas Jackson Enzo Maresco's got two players working in tandem and it allows them to score goals and it allows them to overwhelm the opposition. So here you have one, two, three, four players running in transition, Enzo looking to back them up as well and what it makes life hard for is first of all the two defenders here one, two, they know they've got to go back, they know they've got to go back quickly because they're worried about the space in behind that they're going to leave right here and so they're looking to kind of deal with that, they know that the 18 yard line is going to be where they kind of reach their final destination where there's that gap between the goalkeeper being able to come out but also that space in behind for Chelsea in this instance. But what's really difficult for this team as well is these guys, one, two, three, because you're five yards off this front four that have got a real pace and crucially you've got four players there that can drive with the ball at their feet at real pace to a level where these guys can't catch up with the Chelsea attackers. So Madawaki's got the ball here and they're driving. The other thing that's really important here is this, these two players are parallel with their runs and there's a very specific reason because Marescu is thinking a couple of steps ahead and he's giving them clear instructions to go and make that run at the same time and run at pace, they do run at pace and then we're getting to this moment where there's a decision that needs to be made by the defender because they're going to get to this 18 yard line and they've got to make a decision. The timing of this transition is so devastating and the reason it's devastating is you've got four on two and so you add in the timing of the run and you add in the fact that as a defender what you absolutely don't want for poor Chris Richards in this instance is you don't want someone running at you and someone running behind you with no real help or cover. But because it's a four on two here, you're getting to the 18 yard line and you're going to have to make a bit of a decision. He knows that and so he thinks, okay maybe I might need to step towards Madaweki who's making his way towards him now, he's not going down the byline like he had done previously but again the timing of this team, they're so well drilled, Palmer's making that run in behind, Madaweki knows that, he's drawing in Chris Richards and he's going to play that ball in but it doesn't stop there because as we move it on the whole point of having both Jackson and Palmer running together, running at pace and running beyond is that it's not about this first pass, it's about the pass after that because as he makes that run Cole Palmer and Jackson they know where each other are, they know they're going to be there for each other and Cole Palmer is able to make a beautiful first time pass with the outside of his left foot to who? Nicholas Jackson who is now the other side of the defender here and therefore he's got an absolute tap in but that goal in terms of overwhelming the opposition doesn't come if they don't work together in parallel with their runs and at pace. Nice time struggling to get back a bit here and Jackson has gone all the way through. Under Maresca, Jackson has already scored nine goals and is on track to beat last season's total of 14 goals, a big part of this has been his improved movement and composure as a striker and the goal he scored against Brentford was a fantastic insight into this. Enzo Fernandez, one on one with Palmer to his left, Jackson will go alone. So once Caicedo wins the ball, Jackson shows open body shape and he gives Caicedo a forward passing option but Caicedo doesn't choose to pass to it. Instead Caicedo plays the ball to Enzo Fernandez but Jackson doesn't stand still, he starts making a positive run forwards. Enzo then plays that ball into Jackson who has a two on two situation against the Brentford defenders. And Jackson even has a little look up to check where his boy, his guy, Karl Palmer is. Now Karl Palmer is on the other side of that defender on the right hand side and what's really interesting here is Karl Palmer doesn't come in and get involved or try to help him, he believes in Nicholas Jackson and he believes in his ability to take his own man one on one. That is the confidence and quality that we've seen from Nicholas Jackson that allows his teammates to not fear leaving him alone. He's got the pace, he's got the feet but crucially he's got the composure and it's the composure shown here by Jackson that makes the goal. He squares up Ethan Pinnock who is now on the back foot and Jackson, he's now in total control of the situation. I really love the movement and the confidence here once he does take control because he bides his time before working up towards Pinnock but then taking that touch away, he knew he always wanted to get that yard onto that right foot and then unleashing a powerful shot that beats the goalkeeper down to his left. And more so than anything, Jackson's added composure and I think comfort in his own skin in the Premier League and his own quality, it's seen his game reach new levels and Chelsea are reaping the rewards. Maresco's done a phenomenal job to turn Chelsea around but can they seriously win the Premier League this season? Let us know in the comments down below.